economy
March 7, 2026
The Decline of the American Mall
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TL;DR
- Don DeLillo's novel 'White Noise' depicted the mall as a place for midlife crisis resolution and self-discovery through consumerism.
- The American mall has been in decline for two decades, impacted by the Great Recession and the rise of e-commerce.
- Malls now primarily fall into two categories: decaying centers with limited tenants and thriving luxury mega-malls.
- Despite the transformation, the author finds both types of malls offer a sense of emptiness and lack true fulfillment.
- Tysons Corner, a former suburban mall, has reinvented itself as a luxury mega-mall, aiming to become a 24-hour urban center.
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